LAHORE – Lahore High Court (LHC) Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial on Friday took suo moto notice of senior lawyer Shakir Ali Rizvi’s murder and sought report from the Punjab Inspector General of Police within 24 hours.
The chief justice expressed anger over the law and order situation in the province and observed that the murder was a result of serious negligence on the part of police department.
The unknown motorcyclists on Friday morning gunned down Shakir Rizvi when he was going to the LHC.
Meanwhile, the Lahore High Court Bar Association (LHCBA) called a general house meeting and condemned the murder of a senior lawyer.
The LHCBA urged the scholars of all schools of thoughts to come forward to resolve sectarian disputes.
Following the murder incident, Punjab Bar Council Vice Chairman Malik Ghulam Abbas Nissoana gave a strike call and demanded the arrest of killers within 24 hours.
In a statement issued here on Friday, Nissoana said the lawyers would not appear before courts of district judiciary throughout the province to protest against the murder.
Meanwhile, the LHC on Friday sought reply from the Punjab chief secretary and home secretary on a petition challenging appointment of Inspector General of Prisons Department.
Justice Nasir Saeed Sheikh directed the law officer appearing before the court to ensure the presence of a senior officer from the office of secretary home along with relevant record on the next date of hearing.
Petitioner lawyer Malik Abdul Rashid submitted that at the time of posting of Kaukab Nadeem Warraich as IG Prisons, the well established procedure was fully taken into consideration and was adopted but one fails to understand as to what happened which necessitated his replacement qua Mian Farooq Nazeer as IG Prisons.
He submitted that Nazeer possessed lesser academic qualification while his opponent Warraich held a foreign degree.
He said in his career, he mismanaged and mishandled the situation regarding warders in Multan jail and he remained suspended for some days. A penalty of withholding of one increment was imposed upon him. Mian Farooq Nazir had attended the 93rd National Management Course at National Management College Lahore, the petitioner pointed out.
The petitioner submitted that despite all negative remarks About Nazeer, he had been posted as IG. He prayed the court to issue direction to the government to remove Nazeer and appoint a competent officer as IG Prisons.